Robert Allan George Gardner

A Private with 4th Bn., Robert died on 14th of February 1942 at the age of 26. 

Robert was born at Willingham, Suffolk, on 1 August 1916, a son of Robert and Edith Florence Gardner. In 1921 his family lived at Willingham and in 1939 Robert lived with his parents at Grange Cottages, Gisleham.

In 1941 Robert married Doris May Gook, at Lowestoft, and their home was at Dell Road, Lowestoft. Robert's brother-in-law, Alfred Gook, died in 1943. 

In autumn 1939 the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment was on guard duty in the Lowestoft area and from July to September 1940 had various local deployments, including guarding Great Yarmouth. The Battalion then moved to Bedfordshire and then Scotland until April 1941. Next the Battalion moved to Bury, Lancashire, and Hereford, before embarking on the S.S. Andes at Liverpool and sailing for Halifax, Nov Scotia. The Battalion changed ship, to the American liner Wakefield, and sailed for Trinidad and then Cape Town, arriving on 9 December 1941. The Battalion was given three days shore leave.

The Battalion was part of 54 Brigade in the 18th (East Anglian) Division. 

With the Japanese entry into the war the Battalion was now allocated to the Far East and sailed for India, arriving on 5 January 1942. The Battalion had three weeks of training before embarking at Bombay and sailing for Singapore, arriving on 29 January 1942. The Battalion had orders to defend the Golf Course and then fell back to defend the perimeter before the Singapore garrison was forced to surrender on 15 February 1942. 

Ninety men of the Battalion were killed, or died of wounds, in the defence of Singapore and 865 were taken prisoner.    

Robert was reported as missing on 15 February 1942 and later was presumed to have been killed in action between 11 and 15 February 1942 (detail from British Army Casualty List 1923 dated 29 November 1945). However, Commonwealth War Grave Commission records show that Robert was killed in action on 14 February 1942 and buried at Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery on 16 February: map reference 816146. In June 1946 his body was exhumed and reburied at Kranji War Cemetery.